Bród to have a new friend as President Higgins set to get a pet pony

Kylemore Abbey will send one of their gorgeous mares to Áras an Uachtaráin to graze the grounds.

In the new partnership, the mare will live in the lap of luxury with President Higgins and his Bernese mountain dog Bród from May to September annually.

Kylemore Abbey’s executive director Conor Coyne said the partnership between Áras an Uachtaráin and Kylemore Abbey is “an opportunity to provide a platform for the west of Ireland and the native breed at probably the most prominent place in the country.”

Explaining how the deal came about to The Irish Field, Mr Coyne said: “We had been in contact with the team in the Áras who are in the middle of putting biodiversity grazing strategy on the grounds and we are looking at doing something similar in Kylemore.

“We spoke about possibly sharing some of the animals and offered them a pony and a foal annually from May to September.”

The decision was made after President Higgins and his wife Sabina visited Kylemore this summer.

“It will provide an opportunity to get national and international media coverage for the breed and will be the beginning of developing a more educational experience for the breed,” Mr Coyne added.

Kylemore Abbey is listed as one of the top tourist attractions in the country. The estate currently houses four mares, three fillies and two colts - fillies are female horses that are too young to be called mares and colts are young male horses.

The estate has been growing its pack and its first foal called Peaceful Paschal arrived on Easter Sunday.

“We have four foals due next year. What we would like to do is build up four or five mares under the Peaceful prefix,” said Mr Coyne.